Large, cylindrical balers have been on the market for a number of years. Typically, the forming of a bale is terminated according to a diameter criterion. Depending on the crop and its moisture level, the weight of bales and the dry matter content can vary widely, even in the same field.
A variety of sensors are incorporated into a large, cylindrical bale baler in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,104. In particular, the use of a bale size sensor is disclosed. Additional sensors are suggested for bale RPM, crop moisture, horsepower demands, belt tension, and bale weight.
Wild et al. reported a hay yield monitoring system for round balers with strain gages on the tongue and axle of the vehicles, which provided a measure of the weight of the baler and the bale. They also added accelerometers to measure vertical accelerations during operation and determined stationary loads within 2% of actual weight. Measurements under dynamic conditions are still under investigation. (Wild, K., H. Auernahammer, J. Rottmeier, 1994, “Automatic Data Acquisition on Round Balers,” ASAE Technical Paper No. 94-1582, presented at 1994 ASAE International Meeting, Atlanta, Ga. Dec. 13-16, 15 pp.)
A cylindrical bale baler system was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,276. The system comprises an electronic evaluation unit for processing signals from displacement sensors and a pendulum, transmitting the bale weight to an output unit with which the data are displayed or stored, such as on a yield card. Additionally, a control device may control various baler functions. Further, a moisture sensor for crop material may be connected with the evaluation unit for an automatic conversion to weight of the dry mass of the big round bale.
There is, therefore, a need for a cylindrical baling system providing a volume average of the moisture level, a bale weight for each bale, consistent bale weight and size, and an identification label, ultimately providing bale weight, moisture, baling date, and field location for each bale.